"Our loneliness is exhibited in our inability to talk with each other about ourselves and things that really matter to us." On December 10, 1961, Rabbi Olan delved into a study of modern loneliness -- how it affects us, the ways we try to avoid it, and how we may even find solace in it. Is it the lack of a shared...
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On Being Lonely
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The Faith of Our Fathers and Our Own
“For many people in our country and elsewhere, God is dead.” When Rabbi Olan stated, “Ours is not the age of religious faith,” he was speaking of 1961. However, his observation is also true in …
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The Command to Love
“Life commands us to love and it is our task to learn the art of it.” Rabbi Olan often called people of faith to act justly in a world filled with injustice. In this November …
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Justice Comes First
Hearing the news today, the presence of justice may often feel lost -- in our laws, our legislation, our daily lives. This was the thrust of Rabbi Olan's sermon on November 19, 1961. He makes key statements such as: "The strong in our midst dominate and crush the weak as is so flagrantly evidenced in the tensions of race relations and..."
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The Harm That Good Men Do
"Censorship is the death of all art. When an artist must exclude a true experience of life to suit the fears of men, he ceases to be creative." Although broadcast on November 12, 2961, Rabbi Olan's brief study of censorship and its repercussions on a free society might easily have been written today. He is careful to note that...
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Life that is Stronger than Death
“Death is the greatest teacher of life.” Why is it that people suddenly become more real at a wake, a funeral, or a memorial service? The losses of loved ones (and of great leaders) remind …
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A National Purpose for America
“It is time, now, that we asked ourselves what has become of the American dream?” On October 29, 1961, Rabbi Olan urged Americans to remember the values and costly sacrifices of our nation’s founders and …
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We and the War That Need Not Be
“There is no escape from the grim reality of the possibility of a nuclear war which would really end all wars and all life.” World tensions were indeed high on October 22, 1961, when this …
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We Are All Guilty
“What punishment is there for someone who is responsible for the murder of six million lives?” Rabbi Olan’s October 15, 1961 radio sermon drew on public interest in the prosecution of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann …
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Wake Up and Live
"... while we are alive we are in need of something more — security, peace of mind, happiness — some undefined quality which is more than breathing or existing." Between the time Rabbi Olan gave this radio sermon on October 8, 1961 and today, the challenges to understand, adapt, and find genuine meaning in life relentlessly persist. The demands of...
Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City 